Le Sarment

“Le Sarment” is a church made up of about 30 people who live in different parts of the Aude department. It is run by a team of 9 members. They have been meeting in Carcassonne since November 2015. It’s a town of 50,000 inhabitants with only 6 small evangelical protestant churches. The church rents a nice building, well-situated in the town where they hold worship services. It’s also useful for meeting with people, training, etc.

The local context is not easy both in terms of the economy and spiritual life. There is much unemployment and the spiritual climate is heavy. It is a very needy area. Having said that, Carcassonne does attract many tourists with its medieval fortifications and its Canal du Midi, both of which are classed as UNESCO heritage sites. Each year millions of visitors come to the town.

The vision at “Le Sarment” can be summed up in these Bible verses:

John 15 v16"You did not choose me but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit."

Matthew 5 v14-15"You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on a stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. "

"Le Sarment" is a church :

That is centred on Jesus in praise, worship and intercession.

That witnesses in Carcassonne and in the different areas represented in the church.

That encourages and develops house groups like the one run by Anke at Luc-sur-Aude.

Where Christian fellowship is real.

Where every member is a disciple witnessing to the Good News of Jesus.

The Alpha course and evangelistic ‘café-croissants’ breakfast meetings are useful in outreach. Regional youth meetings have been a great blessing and we pray for a teenagers group to start in our church. The hope is also to have a childrens group once there are enough children to make it possible. There is a need for leaders for both of these groups.

Prayer is important if the Kingdom of God is to grow in this region and if other workers are to join the team. To this end, they have a small team of intercessors who pray regularly.

The pastors of most of the churches in the Aude department meet together regularly but there is still much progress to be made in this respect. The goal is to create occasions to meet each other so they can get to know each other better and pray together.